January 2017 Cowboy Chronicle Page 1
Page 4 Cowboy Chronicle January 2017 The Cowboy Chronicle CONTENTS 5 6-9 10 12-17 18-39 40-44 45 46-51 52 54, 55 56, 57 58-65 66, 67 68 18, 19 20-34 FROM THE EDITOR Skinny s Soapbox COVER FEATURE SASS Champions NEWS Tippman Armory, Air Ordnance COSTUMING CORNER Diary of Desire (Tales of a Victorian Gown) ANNUAL REPORTS West Virginia... Canada... Australia... New Jersey GUNS & GEAR Dispatches Camp Baylor SASS AFFILIATED MERCHANTS LIST HISTORY A Shocking Tale... Little Known Famous People TRAIL MARKERS Always To Be Remembered SASS MERCANTILE GENERAL STORE SASS AFFILIATED CLUB LISTINGS (Annual / Monthly) POLITICAL Impelled to Separation ADVERTISER S INDEX Everett Hitch (left), a fast young gun, poses with his Classic Cowboy father, Deadwood, during Australia s twenty-fourth annual national championship match. Visit our Website at SASSNET.COM SASS Trademarks SASS, Single Action Shooting Society, END of TRAIL, EOT, The Cowboy Chro nicle TM, Cowboy Action Shooting TM, CAS TM, Wild Bunch TM, Wild Bunch Action Shooting TM, The World Championship of Cowboy Action Shooting TM, Bow-legged Cowboy Design, and the Rocking Horse Design are all trademarks of The Single Action Shooting Society, Inc. Any use or reproduction of these marks without the express written permission of SASS is strictly prohibited. Editorial Staff Skinny Editor-in-Chief Misty Moonshine Managing Editor Tex and Cat Ballou Editors Emeritus Adobe Illustrator Layout & Design Mac Daddy Graphic Design Square Deal Jim Advertising Manager (410) 531-5456 Cell:(703) 728-0404 chronicleads@sassnet.com Staff Writers Big Dave, Capgun Kid Capt. George Baylor Col. Richard Dodge Jesse Wolf Hardin, Joe Fasthorse Larsen E. Pettifogger, Palaver Pete Tennessee Tall and Rio Drifter Texas Flower Whooper Crane and the Missus The Cowboy Chronicle is published by The Wild Bunch, Board of Directors of The Single Action Shooting Society. For advertising information and rates, administrative, and edi to rial offices contact: Chronicle Administrator 215 Cowboy Way Edgewood, NM 87015 (505) 843-1320 FAX (505) 843-1333 email: SASSCHRON@sassnet.com http://www.sassnet.com The Cowboy Chronicle (ISSN 15399877) is published monthly by the Single Action Shooting Society, 215 Cowboy Way, Edgewood, NM 87015. Periodicals Postage is paid at Plattsburgh, NY and additional mailing offices (Permit #20591). POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Cowboy Chronicle, 215 Cowboy Way, Edgewood, NM 87015. DISCLAIMER - The Single Action Shooting Society does not guarantee, warranty or endorse any product or service advertised in this newspaper. The publisher also does not guarantee the safety or effectiveness of any product or service illustrated. The distri bution of some products/services may be illegal in some areas, and we do not assume responsibility thereof. State and local laws must be investigated by the purchaser prior to purchase or use or products/services. WARNING: Neither the author nor The Cowboy Chronicle can accept any responsibility for accidents or diffe ring results obtained using reloading data. Variation in handloading tech niques, compo nents, and fire arms will make results vary. Have a competent gunsmith check your firearms before firing.
Page 34 Cowboy Chronicle January 2017 Annual Reports i CLEAN UP THE TOWN i The Twenty-Fourth Annual Australian NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP August 25-28, 2016 By H. L. Hunley, SASS #94810 Australia (SASA), we were off and running. Our Club Captain, a Wrangler shooter and winter Frontier Cartridge shooter, Bear Paw, took the reins. His vision was a story with cartoon cowboys. We needed solid, fun stages, lots of support materials, and logistics to have a four-day party. He made it happen. The FSC committee worked as a team and Territorial Governor Virgil Earp led opening ceremony and was pleased Frontier Shooting Club was able to improve the range and act as host. CLEAN UP THE TOWN The Nationals aren t usually held in the tucked-away state of South Australia, but in March circumstances presented a chance. (More of a challenge, really.) The Frontier Shooting Club (FSC) was the natural host, as we had nine façades and passable elbow room on our range at the state shooting park in the town of Virginia. No electricity or water, but those were minor problems. A big event like this could mean 125-150 shooters. We figured a lot of folks wouldn t make the big trip from other states, so we planned on 100 shooters. Could the FSC, with the help of other clubs, pull this off? We needed more façades, range dividing walls, a place to host dinners, and enough other must-be-dones to rival a NASA launch checklist. With help and grants from the Sporting Shooters Association of Australia (SSAA) and Single Action Shooting Shooting Stage 1 at the Sheriff s Office. The new façade allows shooting from the door and window, as well as moving into the building and shooting from a table, or through the hole in the brick wall (Styrofoam) of the cell. A panoramic view of some of our frontier town, consisting of twelve façades, a mix of new and old. Maybe we can build the other side of the street next year.
January 2017 Cowboy Chronicle Page 35 The cartoon-themed program cover, front and back, featuring a western town invaded by villains and populated with good and bad alike Iva Beane the cattle baron and even innocent Sally Sutters from the mercantile. Clean Up The Town (The 24th Annual Australian National Championship)... progress was made straightaway. There was so much to do that little touches and some important bits were finished up the day before we opened, almost six months later. Bear Paw agonized over the number of shooters. It would be disappointing to get a low number. But too many would mean bottleneck problems. A month out from the big day and we had just a few applications, but at the last minute they started pouring in and we wound up with 117 shooters. Yee-hah! Would the logistics handle it? We had two portable toilets but rented four more. We had a club generator but got a secondary and auxiliaries. A rented cool room made food service possible. Weather! August in Australia is late winter, which means cold temperatures (well, for here!) 40 degrees Fahrenheit in the morning with a top of 55-60 degrees. And lots of rain, which would mean mud and rust. By Monday morning, August 22, everything was ready. We now had 12 façades, most full buildings to move into and shoot from multiple positions. These were built by a team led by Double Duelist shooter Sam Balin (SASS #31217 Life Regulator) and included standouts like Classic Cowboy shooter Bambino, 49er Red Morgan, and Lady Wrangler shooter Ruby Morgan. While many folks worked hard, our chief painter was Lady Gunfighter Scarlet Assassin (SASS #104163 Life). Our new dividing walls gave us five shooting bays. Each wall was made from cubic yard concrete blocks weighing 4,000 pounds each. These were expertly assembled by a team led by Classic Cowboy shooter Ranger also thankfully a skilled crane operator! The range was decorated with props. The Sheriff s office had wanted posters of the characters in the story. The blacksmith shop had a full sized anvil (carved from wood and indistinguishable from the real thing), and tools glowing in a fake fire, all courtesy of our oldest member, Grand Patron shooter Wrangler Joe. Authentic carriage parts covered the wall, thanks to our carriage restorer, Senior Gunfighter shooter Jesse James. Jesse restored our sad train façade, painting it bright and adding sandbox, steam dome, new wheels/pistons, and a name sign. The Mercantile counter held bags of sundry goods, and thanks (Continued on page 36)
Page 36 Cowboy Chronicle January 2017 Clean Up The Town... (Continued from page 35) to Cowgirl shooter Miss Lilly Rose, even period jars of authentic candy. The Mine sported dynamite, lanterns, and picks. The Cantina had gaming tables with authentic no-number playing cards, chips, and dice, and signs in Spanish enticing customers to purchase unmentionable things (thanks to our second oldest member, Grand Patron shooter Jeremiah). Full-sized cartoon characters from the program were all over. We were (almost) set. Folks probably wouldn t arrive until Wednesday. But Monday afternoon the first shooters rolled in! While this was a good sign, it was a little scary. By Wednesday afternoon the camping area was packed with RVs and tents, with shooters from almost all seven states. It had begun. The skies were at least bluish. Thursday was registration with shooter packs handed out: goody bags with a beer coozie printed with our event logo, a drawstring calico ammo bag printed with the logo, and the program book. The program featured a cartoon Mayor Hunley (I didn t write the story, a character just happened to look me). Folks got into the spirit and greeted me as Mr. Mayor. In the afternoon we had a warm up match with more than forty shooters, and an RO course. Thursday evening Miss Lilly Rose started selling raffle tickets for our prize of twin Uberti Cattleman pistols in.45 Colt. She s persistent and sold our minimum the first night! The pistols were provided by Frontier Cartridge shooter Joe Kidd and the FSC Committee. Friday, still blue skies and getting warmer, we started with Cowboy Clays and Speed Events. The first BANG! And CLANG! rang out on our new targets, thanks to the welding efforts of Gunfighter shooter Lucky Strike. After lunch (provided by Miss Judy and her chuck wagon team), the event officially opened with intros by SSAA President David Handyside; SASA National Chairman, Territorial Governor Virgil Earp (SASS #4299); FSC President, Classic Cowboy shooter Ebenezer, and our Club Captain, Bear Paw. The first three stages started the story: You re the new Sheriff of a sleepy frontier town. The Mayor and corrupt cattle baron Iva Beane have struck a deal bringing all the cattle in the area to your The posses gather at the Barbershop for a run-through from the program. The cartoon (and somewhat grumpy) barber is just visible on the left wall. Shooting from our newly refurbished locomotive façade, restored and vastly improved by Jesse James, one of the first Cowboy Action Shooters in Australia and one of the most enthusiastic promoters of the sport. town for the train ride back east. Now you ve got cashed up cowboys and a bunch of undesirables. You ve got to get things under control before your town tears itself apart. Lots of great BANGs and CLANGs and smiles. Bear Paw s stages were very good! Young Cowboy shooters McSween and brother Tunstall, sister Miss Fortune, and mother Mrs. Mum, laid out a charcoal BBQ Friday night. An event tent housed the guests at long tables, each with a cowboy-themed centerpiece (thanks to Miss Lilly Rose). Entertainment was provided by The Banjo Girl, 17-year-old Taylor Pfeiffer, a professional banjo player and yodeler. She was a smash hit and sold albums at the end of the evening. (www.taylorpfeiffer.com). Saturday was the big day, six stages. More happy shooters at the end, finding stages fun and not hard, but a little brain power needed. The town continued to be cleaned up as the shooters fought the likes of outlaws Charlie Hart and Bart Kelly. Folks took advantage of Miss Lilly s Wanted poster photo booth, taking pictures with changeable bad deeds. Three seemingly prim and proper ladies crammed in for a group shot that was anything but proper (manners, and a fear of pain, prevent me from elaborating). Saturday night s dinner was catered. Hearty roast and veggies. Cowboy shooter Ace McKenzie (SASS #98658 Life) was MC for door prizes. His stylish wardrobe, booming voice, and snappy patter make him a natural host. Our entertainment was Cripple Creek, a three-piece country band, singing a unique blend of bluegrass and alt-country. Sunday brought the last three stages. Scores were calculated, leaving Master Gunfighter man-on-man for the afternoon. The top 16 men and top 8 ladies faced off in pairs on our new Open Range. As mayor I had the honor of being the starter pistol for each shoot-off. I m a black powder man, so there was no doubt about the starter shots. Each shooter competed on a mirrored left/right course of three pistol targets (4-2-4 sweep), three rifle (4-2-4), and four knockdown shotguns. A crossover shotgun target determined the winner. (Shotgun racks and crossover manufactured by Joe Kidd.) Man-on-man is my favorite part. Even with a Double Duelist against a Cowboy, the outcome is not certain. It s neck-and-neck until the very last. I d watch this stuff on TV! Final scores were tallied and the awards ceremony held. Overall Winners were Henry Sharps and Violet Rose. We had five clean shooters, some of them also winning their category! We had pulled off the Nationals, with shooters happy, awarded, and
January 2017 Cowboy Chronicle Page 37 Clean Up The Town... entertained. Great stages were key, and logistics. Lucky Strike was behind the scenes keeping it moving, and he still shot (and well). Johanna the park caretaker was also behind the scenes every minute. But the story was important, too. It made the shooters play on another level. For me, the indicator of success is personal. When folks packed up and headed home, I was dragging my own gear across the campground, dressed in civvies but wearing my cavalry boots. A guest shooter was on an intersect course, but there was plenty of room for us to pass. Instead, he stopped and tipped his hat. Oh no, the mayor should go first. I smiled and took the honor offered. It wasn t that I was the mayor, but that people connected with the story and had fun with it. What a great game and what a great bunch of people cowfolk truly are.